Writing on the Wall
by Jsel
Summary: It's my first fic! please don't flame me into nonexistence!


Title: Writing on the Walls  
Author: Jsel  
spoilers: none  
Disclaimer: they're not mine  
notes: read one were Daniel was deaf and wondered what would happen with blindness added to the mix. The endings lame but...*sigh*   
  
  
Writing on the wall  
By Jsel  
  
  
Daniel smiled to himself as he allowed his feet to take him farther ahead from the rest of the team. He knew that Jack would corner him when he caught up with him and give him the same lecture he always received about how important it was to stay together, blah, blah, blah. Daniel let his anticipation carry his feet faster anyway and he crested the last hill far ahead from the rest of SG1. He caught sight of the city below him and smiled. He took a step eagerly down the hill and suddenly, the air was torn around him and an explosion rent the air. He had enough time to register with astonishment that he was flying before he slammed into the ground and darkness hit him like a two-ton truck.  
***  
Jack cursed silently to himself in anger. How many times did he have to pound it into Daniel's overactive brain? Whenever he went into his schpeal about safety off world, all he got from Daniel was a absentminded, "Yeah, all right." Of course, when they arrived, the young archeologist made a beeline over to civilization or where it had been and nothing got through to him then. Jack was about to call out when an explosion shook the ground. He cursed silently again, this time in worry. With a sigh, he set off at a run, with Carter and Teal'c close behind.   
He arrived, panting, at the top of the hill and looked around. From here you had a spectacular view of the city that Daniel was so excited about. The young man in question was nowhere to be seen and there was no evidence of an explosion. Jack sighed again as the other two came up behind him. With a muttered "Here we go again," and a prayer to Daniel's special guardian angel, the three set out down the hill in hopes that that was were Daniel had been taken.  
***  
"Tall, young," Jack said in an attempt to explain Daniel to the city official. "Long blonde hair, glasses, blue eyes." The official inclined his head slightly.  
"There was a young human brought in earlier that fits your description. He is, of course, in prison."  
"In prison!" Jack exploded. Valiantly, he fought the rising anger and won. Dead calm, he asked, "Why?"  
Equally calm, the answer came, "We are at war Colonel. Your young companion set off one of the mines outside the city and was taken by the guards that laid in wait. Naturally, we assumed that he was of the enemy and so he is in prison." Jack felt Carter come forward, in case he said anything offending. Jack groaned to himself. It was really Daniel that was good at this negotiating business.  
"So?" prompted Jack slowly, "Are you going to, maybe, give him back?"  
The official again inclined his head. "Of course. When you are at war, you capture those of the enemy. But now that we know that he is yours and not theirs, he will gladly be returned to you. You will find him." Th official swept out of the room before Jack could say anything.  
"Find him!" Jack exploded with quite ferocity. "What's that supposed to mean?"  
***  
Daniel awoke slowly to a pounding headache. It was cold and very hard and very dark. Why was it so dark? Because your eyes are closed, dummy. Oh, right. All right, open your eyes Daniel. Come one, open them. It won't be that bad. His eyes opened. It was still dark…and quiet. The silence almost unnerved him more that the dark. Daniel felt his face and realized that he was missing his glasses. Great perfect. Now if he ever got out from wherever he was, he would be practically bat-blind. "Jack?" He called. His ears didn't pick up any sound. "Jack!" He called again in fear. Nothing. No sound reached his ears and suddenly the terrible dark and quiet was revealed. He had a moment of panic before vibrations were felt through the ground. He stumbled up, his hands outstretched before him. They met cold metal bars. He must be in a prison. The door suddenly opened outward, throwing him to the ground. Roughly, he was hauled up to his feet again. He reached his hands up to an unseen face. His wrist was cruelly grabbed and twisted behind him. Daniel gasped in pain as he was propelled forward.  
They walked for what seemed like forever, but might have been only five minutes. Suddenly there was a change in the atmosphere. It felt fresher and the air smelt cleaner. He was roughly thrown to the ground again and left. Slowly, he stood up. A rumbling reverberated under his feet. He must be on the road, which meant the rumble was probably from a large cart, the kind that could run you over and the driver would never know. Taking a desperate chance, Daniel threw himself to the side, his hand connecting with cold, hard stone. The city wall. With a sigh of relief, he maneuvered himself well away from any road. He sat down gratefully on the grass. Without being able to see or hear, how would he know if Jack or Sam or Teal'c came along? They'll let you know, h told himself firmly. If you just stay here, they'll find you and everything will be sorted out. That thought didn't help much, but it was the truth and it was all he could do. He curled himself into a ball and choked back tears that threatened to fall. Daniel waited.  
***  
Sam heard Jack muttering to himself behind her. She knew how it had rankled him how the official had discussed Daniel with him like he was property. It rankled with her too.  
Suddenly, she caught site of a military uniform on the side of the road. It was Daniel. Jack hadn't seen him yet so she headed over quickly. He was curled into a ball, his back resting against the city walls. "Daniel?" she asked. No response. "Daniel!" she called again and set a hand gently on his shoulder. He jerked back in surprise and looked at her…almost. More like, his eyes looked at were she was generally. Something horrible was at the back of her mind, begging to be seen, but she ignored it. Daniel's hands felt her uniform and the horrible thing at the back of her mind exploded out into the front as his hands reached up to feel her face and hair.  
"Captain?" she heard Jack ask behind her. She looked back at him.  
"It's Daniel sir, "She said slowly, "He's blind, and deaf."  
***  
Jack allowed himself a sigh of relief as the event horizon snapped back into place and Carter went through it, supporting Daniel. Teal'c went next and then Jack. He stepped through the 'gate into the 'gate room at the SGC and stepped forward to talk to General Hammond, who was at his usual position at the end of the ramp.  
"You're early," he said frowning. "What's wrong?" Jack looked back over his shoulder at Carter and Daniel. She stepped forward and Daniel almost overbalanced while looking for her. Teal'c caught him and he clung unceremoniously tot he enormous Jaffa.   
"It's Daniel." Jack said. Hammond nodded. It was always Daniel.  
"Infirmary." he said. Jack nodded and the team made it's way tot he infirmary almost on auto-pilot.  
***  
Jack looked around the infirmary in toe-tapping exasperation. Immediately after her physical, Carter had taken off, saying that she would be back. Janet was now done with Daniel and she wasn't back yet. Jack heard a noise behind him and turned to see Carter panting in the doorway. She stepped forward towards Daniel. ""What are you doing?" He asked.  
"Flying on a wing and a prayer, sir." She answered flippantly. "And hoping that Daniel knows various forms of sign language." At his questioning look, she explained. "While I was in high school, I learned sign language. I was just looking through my old books and I found the alphabet that Anne Sullivan used with Helen Keller. I'm hoping that Daniel knows it." She continued forward and stopped in front of the bed that Daniel sat despondently on. She reached out and took his hand and he drew back uncertainly. Gently, Sam brushed some of his long hair behind his ear and, reassured, he let her take his hand.  
"Daniel?" She signed. He jerked back in surprise, then…  
"Sam?" he signed back and a smile lit up his features.  
"Why so quiet?" She asked. The smile fell. Then quietly, so quietly that only Sam could hear, he said  
"I don't know what I'm saying." Sam could tell how hard he was trying to pronounce the words.   
"Don't worry." She signed. "It will all be alright." He nodded. Sam looked at him in concern and heard Janet explaining behind her to Jack that it could be temporary, but it was likely to be permanent. Swiftly, she edited the message and gave it to Daniel. He nodded again, but Sam felt a tear splash on her hand and realized how hard he was trying to contain his emotions. She sat down beside him and pulled him against her. He leaned into her and Sam felt his head fall on her shoulder and Daniel relaxed for the first time since he had lost his sight and sound.  
Sam saw Janet Jack and Teal'c leaving for the debriefing and made to get up and follow them. Jack waved to her to remain so she settled back down. Soon, she felt Daniel's breathing steady and she knew he was asleep. Gently, she set him down on the bed and left to join the rest of the team.  
***  
"What's wrong?" General Hammond asked Janet.  
"Daniel's blind and deaf, sir." she answered. "It could be temporary, but it's more likely that it's permanent." He frowned, but nodded.  
"And how is he?"  
"Extremely nervous. And probably disorientated." Jack snorted at the obviousness at that statement. On the journey back, Daniel had been hesitant to even take one step, even with Carter to stead him. The door opened and Carter came in.  
"Asleep." she said to Janet's unasked question. The doctor nodded. She cast a look on Jack that he couldn't interpret and then said,  
"I'd like him to stay on base for a while. About a week, until we know what's going on." Now Jack understood that look. He spoke up.  
"Sir, why don't you let me take him home. He'll be more comfortable there." Hammond looked at him.  
"I'm sorry, Colonel." he said. "With this, I have to defer to the doctors wishes. Dr. Jackson stays on base."  
Jack fell into silence, cursing to himself. He should've just taken Daniel and not said anything to anyone.  
"Dismissed." said Hammond. Jack caught Carter's eye and she nodded and stayed behind after the others had left.  
"Sir?" she inquired. Jack smiled in anticipation of the reaction he was going to get at his request.  
"Captain," he said formally, "I want you to teach me sign language."  
***  
Daniel sat at his desk, doing nothing really, just sitting feeling one of his artifacts. Since the lose of his sight and sound, he had discovered a whole new world of feel and smell. Those two senses had sharpened considerably. Sam had signed that he was required to stay on the base until further notice. He sighed in disgust. What he really wanted to do was to go home. He suspected that Jack knew this and he also knew that Jack wouldn't be able to stand up to Janet when she was in her full-blown "Doctor Knows Best" mode. Suddenly there was a touch at his shoulder and he turned around and held out a hand. The hand that grabbed it was not Sam's which caused him to jump in surprise. So far, only Sam had been able to communicate with him because she was the only one who knew sign language.  
"Hey Daniel." He paused for a moment then smiled evilly at a thought that had just crossed his mind.  
"Jack?" He signed back. Jack laughed at his look and quickly signed  
"Yeah, me. I got Carter to teach me."  
"Really? That's great. What's been going on?" Daniel signed quickly. Jack gazed at him in astonishment. He hadn't known that a persons hands could go that fast.  
"Whoa." he signed slowly, "Slow down. I'm new at this thing." Daniel's grin widened.  
"Sorry." Jack laughed and clapped him on the shoulder. Then came the question that he knew would be coming and dreaded it because he knew the answer and wanted desperately to avoid letting Daniel down.  
"Can I go home yet?" He had asked Sam every time she had talked to him and the answer was still the same. He held his breath in hope. Jack sighed.  
"Janet says not yet." Daniel's face fell, as Jack knew it would. "Maybe," he signed "I can convince her to let me take you home with me." Daniel's face lit up again and Jack smiled to himself. There was no way he as letting Janet win this one.  
***  
Jack glanced at the young man sitting in the passenger seat of the car. He had managed to argue Janet into letting him take Daniel back to his house for a while after swearing that he would call if anything happened and that he would make Daniel eat, sleep, etc. He had quickly done so before Janet could change her mind and say the Daniel had to stay on base. Jack considered it a miracle that he had made it out of the infirmary alive. Janet was steamed about something. Apparently SG-8 had come back with raging fevers. Maybe she just wanted Daniel and Jack out of her hair. Jack couldn't blame her. He could be down right infuriating when he put his mind to it.  
Jack braked for a red light and examined Daniel closer. He looked utterly bewildered and completely lost. Almost like a little puppy in a crowd. Jack suddenly realized that Daniel didn't have any proof that it was really Jack that he was sitting next to. For all he was concerned, Jack might be driving him to his doom. That said a lot about Daniel's trust in him. That thought made him blink before returning his musing gaze to the red light that had just turned green. Daniel was probably totally disorientated, but Jack could see how happy he was to get off the base. Couldn't say he blamed the kid either.  
Jack pulled into his driveway and hopped out to help Daniel in. With a bit of difficulty, they successfully navigated Jack's slightly, well, really, messy hallway and Daniel sat down on the couch. Jack took a quick detour into the kitchen and made coffee quickly before picking up the phone. That was another thing that Janet had insisted on. That Jack call the moment that they got home. Yeesh and the people at base thought that he had a mother hen attitude.  
Daniel sniffed the air hopefully. Coffee. Hot coffee. Just what he needed right now. Without thinking, he got up and started to make his way towards the kitchen. His shins barked painfully against something and with a cry he crashed to the ground.  
Jack had just gotten a very peeved sounding Janet on the phone and was just about to tell her that they had gotten home safely when he heard a crash in the other room. He peered around the doorway.  
"WHOA!" He shouted. He heard a tiny "What?" come from the phone. "Call you later." he said quickly and slammed the phone down before running to Daniel who was now on the floor massaging both shins.  
"What were you doing?" Jack signed. Daniel shrugged. Jack looked at hi m sadly. Daniel looked miserable. Jack heaved him up and set him down on the couch again. "Janet's gonna have a fit." He signed. Daniel smiled weakly. Jack waited and then it all came out.  
"What am I going to do?" Daniel asked.  
"Don't worry." jack signed. Daniel caught his hand in a fierce grip that surprised Jack.  
"That's what Sam said. What's going to happen?"  
"What do you mean?" Jack asked, feigning ignorance.  
"What about the team? Can't you convince Hammond about a really easy mission to some uninhabited planet where I can feel like I'm doing something. I don't know what's going to happen now." Jack thought for a moment, knowing the pain that Daniel was going through. Then he shrugged. It couldn't hurt to try, could it?  
***  
General Hammond looked at him in disbelief. "You want to go here? What about Dr. Jackson?"  
"Sir," Jack said, he was so close to winning this one, "Daniel can still feel. I think it will be fine. He's feeling a bit useless." Understatement of the century Jack. Hammond still looked at him, as if sizing him up. Then he sighed.  
"All right then. Go get ready."  
***  
Jack leaned against the wall and watched Daniel with a smile. This mission had been worth it all. Daniel was busy trying to decipher this old language by feel and Jack got the feeling that this was all a game to him. He turned away still smiling to check on the other two.  
Daniel ran his fingers over the glyphs again. He wasn't quite getting it. Something about life. Those who seek? What was that about? Those who do not seek will find? It wasn't making any sense at all. Suddenly he felt something come over him. Something gently coursing over him and healing. Definitely healing. He closed his eyes briefly and then opened them again and this time the world exploded with light, sound and color, so much so that he flung up a hand and cried out.  
Jack whirled at the cry and saw Daniel with one arm shielding his eyes and the other trying to cover both ears at once.  
"Daniel!" he cried. Jack saw him jerk around at the sound of his name. Jack checked himself. Daniel was deaf unless Jack didn't finish that thought, just ran over to where the young man was now pulling down his arm and blinking. Blinking? Jack grabbed his arm and Daniel looked at him. Really looked at him. Jacks eyes were caught by Daniel's for the first time in what seemed like forever.  
"Daniel?" he asked again.  
"Jack?" Jack stared speechless at him. Daniel's face split in a grin.  
"I can hear! I can see again! And wow, it's bright in here." he said, squinting.  
"Uh, Danny?" Jack said slowly, "It's not bright in here at all. In fact, its quite dark."  
"Yeah, I figured that. Because I haven't been using my eyes, everything appears overly bright." Then he laughed.  
"Sir?" Jack turned around and saw Carter there, apparently drawn by the commotion.  
"Sam!" cried Daniel. "I didn't know you knew sign language!" Jack began wishing for a camera as Carter's mouth dropped to below her knees. Even Teal'c wasn't able to mask his reaction very well.  
Daniel smiled, as he was able to take in his friends and team. He smiled to himself, as the writing on the wall became clear. "Those who do not seek everlasting life will find healing within these walls."  
  



End file.
